These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.

The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song. (Is 35:1-10)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121123.cfm
Roses in December . . . tonight in many parishes the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe will begin. Over 300 years before Lourdes and Fatima, in 1531, la Morenita appeared to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin on the Hill of Tepeyac in what is now Mexico City. The message: “I am your loving Mother.” That message continues to resound in the hearts of all people of faith.